(CNN) —Feeling so happy you just can't stand it? You might want to pop some acetaminophen.

A new study has found that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, most forms of Midol and
more than 600 other medicines, reduces not only pain but pleasure, as well.

The authors of the study, which was published this week in Psychological Science, say that it was already
known that acetaminophen blunted psychological pain. But their new research led them to the
conclusion that it also blunted joy -- in other words, that it narrowed the range of feelings experienced.

"This means that using Tylenol or similar products might have broader consequences than previously
thought," said Geoffrey Durso, a doctoral student in social psychology at Ohio State University and the
lead author of the study. "Rather than just being a pain reliever, acetaminophen can be seen as an all-
purpose emotion reliever."

The researchers tested their thesis by showing 82 college students 40 photographs -- some of highly
pleasant images, such as children with kittens, and some of highly unpleasant images, such as children
who were malnourished.

Half of the participants in the study were given "an acute dose" of acetaminophen -- 1,000 milligrams --
and the other half were given a placebo with the same appearance. The subjects were then asked to
rate the photos according to how unpleasant or pleasant they were.

Those who took the acetaminophen rated all the photos less extremely than those who took the
placebo.

"In other words, positive photos were not seen as positively under the influence of acetaminophen and
negative photos were not seen as negatively," the authors reported.

Drug did not alter sense of magnitude in general

The researchers followed up by testing a group of 85 people to see whether this change in judgment
applied just to emotions or whether the drug blunted people's evaluation of magnitude in general.
This group showed the same blunting of emotional reactions. But acetaminophen did not affect how
much blue they saw in each photo.

But people who participated in the study did not appear to know they were acting differently, said
Baldwin Way, an assistant professor of psychology who was another of the study's authors.

"Most people probably aren't aware of how their emotions may be impacted when they take
acetaminophen," Way said.

Each week, about 23% of American adults -- or 52 million people -- use a medicine containing
acetaminophen, according to the nonprofit Consumer Healthcare Products Association.

The authors said it was not known whether other pain relievers, such as ibuprofen and aspirin, have the
same effect. But have no fear -- they plan to study that question, as well.